


Share a Coke (And my Life)

by MoonlightShines (Thatkillervibe)



Series: Killervibe Week 2020 [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Fluff, Grocery Shopping, Sleep Deprivation, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:54:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25978552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thatkillervibe/pseuds/MoonlightShines
Summary: Cisco and Caitlin meet in the long line at Whole Foods.
Relationships: Cisco Ramon/Caitlin Snow
Series: Killervibe Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1884334
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	Share a Coke (And my Life)

**Author's Note:**

> okay this would not have happened without the help of Mosylu for randomly clicking the Daily AU tumblr generator for me because I just could NOT figure out what to do for the meet cute theme. #Teamwork.

Caitlin shifted her basket of groceries from one arm to the other, half-dead on her feet. Maybe it’s just her exhaustion after the 36-hour shift, but the line at this cash was taking forever, she thought she might pass out then and there. 

When she got home half an hour before, she had opened her fridge and nearly cried. It was empty and foodless with nothing to eat but a pathetic slice of smoked cheese. Even if her aching joints screamed at her to crash on the couch in front of Netflix and order dinner—she knew once she got her legs up and wrapped around her blankets she’d never leave again. And she was out of everything. Like milk and eggs. So she dragged herself back up and went to the nearest grocery. 

Caitlin eyed the fridge of soft drinks as the line moved up a bit. The thirst hit her like a delirium. She rarely drank sodas or fizz but the red coke bottles were calling her, and she just didn’t feel like going for the bottled water. On impulse, she took a mini bottle out of the fridge and opened the cap, taking a sip. Immediate gratification greeted her and she refused to regret the decision. While never one to snack on something she hadn’t paid yet for, she’d seen the neighbours do it all the time. Not just here, but Walmart, Walgreens, the movie theatre across the road. Everywhere. This town knew she was a hospital worker, surely she could be allowed just this once. 

She screwed the cap back on and dropped it into her basket, taking another step as the line continued. She glanced at her food: vegetables, crackers, milk, juice, bread, eggs, pasta and rose sauce, fresh fruit and some chicken breasts on sale. Her stomach grumbled noisily. Maybe while she was at it, she could dig into the bag of cheese curds too. 

Just as she was about to yank into the plastic wrap of the fresh cheese, someone tapped on her shoulder. She tensed, worried someone would call her out and turned around.

“I’m in line,” she snapped. “I’m going to pay for it.” 

The man behind her widened his eyes at her tone, taken aback. He was holding a coke bottle in his hand and had a cart of food too. There was a lot of frozen treats like ice cream sandwiches and pizza pockets, but also spices and meats cut specifically from the butcher counter. Like he was about to cook something specifically for dinner several days in a row. 

“...I’m sure you are?” he said with an awkward laugh, tucking a strand of hair out of his eyes. 

Caitlin’s mouth went a bit dry, giving the man a once over. Either this was a fever dream or this dark-eyed, tanned man in a well-fitting shirt with dimples really was the most attractive person to have ever walked into Whole Foods. And she just bit his head off. She rubbed her eyes and flushed, mortified. Dumbfounded?

She really needed to go home, shove something into her mouth to eat and never think about this day again. 

“I’m sorry,” he continued in stride. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” 

“No,” she fumbled, fixing her coat. At least she changed out of her scrubs but she was fairly certain she still smelt like ICU. “I shouldn’t have yelled. What was your question?” 

The man laughed like the situation was embarrassing. “I just noticed your Share a Coke had my name on it. I wanted to ask if I could take a picture. I’ve never seen it before.” 

Caitlin looked at the bottle. It was the first time she noticed the name.  _ Francisco. _

“Oh, sure of course.” She picked it up to hand it to him. “I’ve never seen a Francisco on one of these before either—” she stopped abruptly, staring at his own bottle sitting now in his cart. 

His said  _ Caitlin. _ She blushed. Of course.  _ Of course.  _ This was just Caitlin’s luck! Hallucinating her name on Whole Foods pizza pocket man’s coke bottle. This was a new level of exhaustion. Forget dinner, Caitlin might as well turn around and readmit herself back to her workplace for the 7th-floor psychiatric ward. She was officially losing it. 

He frowned, confused why she was stuck there. 

“I…” 

The lady behind Francisco pointed at them to move up, neither realizing that the line had moved again. 

“What is it?” 

“...Yours has _ my _ name,” she said, pointing at his coke. 

Francisco’s jaw dropped, first in shock but then he chuckled and his eyes brightened like this was the coolest thing to have ever happened. 

“Caitlin?”

“Yes.”

Caitlin smiled too, relieved that he could see what she did. 

“Okay. That’s freaky. Really cute, but freaky.” 

“I’d say.” 

When she didn’t say anything, he quirked an eyebrow at her like he was waiting for her to do something. 

“Um?” he said. “Caitlin?”

She gave him another confused smile. “Yes?” 

  
“Your bottle?” He waved his phone. “I wanted to take that picture.” 

Oh lord, Caitlin needed her bed. She startled, thrusting her half-finished coca-cola at him. “I’m so so sorry,” she said again. “I just finished a long shift at the hospital, I’m really not all there right now.” 

“It’s alright,” he chuckled. He snapped a pic of the bottle and returned it. “So, Caitlin, are you a doctor?” 

“I am, Francisco,” she said, “You?” 

Cisco stuck out his tongue, grossed out. “Oh god, no. Yeah, I took a picture of it but everyone calls me Cisco. Francisco was my great-uncle.” 

Caitlin laughed, amused by his way with words. “Cisco then,” she gestured at his food cart. “You look like you know your way around a kitchen. Are you a cook or something?” 

“As much as I like cooking as a hobby, that’s not what I do for work. I’m an engineer, and I’m actually starting my own company downtown.”

Oh, wait. Where had she heard of that before? 

She squinted at him. “Are you the one that bought the Thawne tower for that new tech industry? Ramon Industries? I’ve always wanted to meet the person who did that. I think the entire hospital cheered when that man kicked the bucket.”

Cisco burst out laughing. Caitlin reddened, horrified. She slapped a hand over her mouth. It was no secret that everyone in Central City couldn’t stand Eobard Thawne or his smarmy business practices but there was a difference between privately disagreeing with his involvement in the city and publicly announcing she was glad he was dead in the food line. Not that Caitlin was  _ glad  _ the man was dead like the rest of her colleagues, per se, but it was out there now. She couldn’t really take it back. 

“You are really funny when you’re tired, Doctor Caitlin.” 

  
“I’m so sorry--I’m just  _ really really  _ tired. I must’ve lost my filter on the walk over here.” 

“Let me take you out for dinner,” Cisco said. He shot her a nervous smile. “Your stomach has been grumbling since I stepped behind you.” He gestured at his cart. “I could cook you something.” 

Caitlin bit her lip. She would love that. She really would. But would she insert her foot into her mouth another handful of times before the food was even cooked? Inevitably. She needed to sleep for a good eight hours before she went on a  _ date.  _

“Excuse me, Miss?” 

Caitlin whipped around. The cashier looked at her grumpily, and she came to realize it was her turn to pay at the queue. She flashed Cisco a look that said _just one minute_ and quickly paid for her basket of groceries. Cisco paid for his purchases after, and she kept sneaking him looks from down the conveyor belt as she packed her juice and eggs into her brown paper bag. 

He came beside her, putting his roast pork packages into his own bag. 

“Well? We could finish our matching cokes together.” 

“I can’t,” she said sympathetically. Cisco’s face fell. 

She reached out to touch his hand. “I mean! I want to! I just can’t tonight. I’m too tired.” 

“Oh, I should’ve thought of that. I understand.” 

But she didn’t want him to go. And she didn’t want to leave without a promise for a rain check. Impulsively, she grabbed his coke bottle out of his paper bag. 

“Hey—!” 

She rummaged through her purse for a pen, ignoring his questions, and wrote her number under her name on his coke. “How about brunch? Tomorrow?” 

Cisco blinked down at the bottle. “Yeah. Sure. I’d like that.” 

Caitlin’s stomach grumbled again. She picked up her bag and her purse and she hurried out of Whole Foods. She spun around just before she nearly smacked against the door to push instead of pull. “Text me!” 

“I will!” 

  
  
  
  


~.~ 

Cisco guided Caitlin by her shoulders until she sat down at a table. “Ready?” 

Caitlin grinned, trailing her fingers over the nice tablecloth. Her blindfold was still tied firmly around her head over her curled hair. She protested when he took it out of his pocket, because she just spent too long on her eye make-up to risk getting it all smudged for her boyfriend’s flair for dramatic grand gestures, but he knew she secretly loved them just as much as she not-so-secretly loved him. It’s been five years and he still tries to make things fun for their nights out. 

“Are we having dinner over a lake?” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t see why we couldn’t have gone to that bistro instead. It was cozy in there.” 

“You fell asleep before the appetizers,” he deadpanned. “Gotta keep you outside so the breeze would keep you awake.” 

“Hey!” 

But he brushed her hair to the side and kissed her cheek. “I’m kidding, love.” 

He pressed a bottle into her hand. “Here, you look thirsty. Have a drink.” Cisco untied the blindfold and Caitlin sighed, adjusting to the difference in light. They were at a table set for two overlooking Central City’s lookout. The city nightlife buzzed in the blurry lights over the city’s skyline. Of course, Cisco would make a date night here. In the distance, they could still make out the view for Ramon Industries and Central City Hospital. 

She took a sip of the cold coke, then glanced down at the bottle distractedly. She nearly choked.

_ Cisco’s Fiancée  _ was written as the name on the Share a Coke label.

She sucked in a breath and looked up to find Cisco on one knee before her. A ring in his hand and a nervous smile on his face. “Caitlin, I’ve adored you since you snapped at me in the Whole Foods line over opening a bag of cheese.”

Caitlin covered her mouth. “Oh my god.”

“Want to marry me?”

She took another slow, deliberate sip from her new drink.

He laughed. “Is that a yes?”

“Yeah.” Caitlin kissed him so she could taste the drink himself. “What do you think?”


End file.
